Stuart Whitehall and Umberto Calvo on drip irrigation & supplements
In this MushroomLink podcast, Stuart discusses the strategic use of drip irrigation with AHR’s own mushroom grower Umberto Calvo. Umberto has conducted trials with a similar system at the March Lawson Mushroom Research Unit. With the potential to improve later flushes and even create nutritionally enhanced mushrooms, our panel discuss the mixed challenges and solutions offered by drip irrigation for mushrooms.
Podcast hosted by Dr Jenny Ekman, AHR.
Stuart Whitehall from Nutrigain has been working with mushrooms almost his entire life. Growing up on a family farm, he earned his pocket money selling spent compost from the tender age of 9. Over several decades in the industry he has both witnessed and driven a host of innovations, from spawn production and trading to biological pest control with nematodes. Stuart has now diversified into nutritional supplements, including the delivery of liquid solutions through drip irrigation systems.
Umberto Calvo from AHR graduated in 2018 from the Università di Torino in Italy, and recently came to Australia to explore agricultural sciences in a completely different environment. With experience in Precision Viticulture in Spanish wine regions he is interested in precision and data-driven agriculture, remote sensing and horticulture crops. He is currently involved in a wide variety of projects from post-harvest avocado quality to mushroom growing techniques.
Complementing management with biological agents - Aimee McKinnon
Aimee is a research scientist for Agriculture Victoria in the Microbial Sciences, Pests, and Diseases (MSPD) group. With expertise in microbial-based biopesticides (biorationals) for use in integrated pest and disease management (IPDM), Aimee’s research focuses on understanding how microbial agents work to control insect pests and pathogens when applied to growing systems, with the broader aim to determine synergistic management practices, and to optimise the delivery of biological control agents. Since 2022, Aimee has been reviewing and evaluating prospective biopesticide agents and formulations for their efficacy to control key pests and diseases of commercial mushrooms in Australia, with a focus on mushroom flies and the pathogens that they may vector.
Results from the mushroom supply chain best management project
Join the MushroomLink team as we speak with Dr Jenny Ekman from the MU22011 Mushroom supply chain best management project. In this two part webinar Jenny will discuss the results from this levy funded project.
Part 2 of the series will be presented on Wednesday 3 July where the postharvest best practice guide will be presented. Click here to find out more.
Global perspectives from Erik de Groot
Image courtesy of the AMGA 2023
Erik de Groot - Consultant Mushroom Business
Following his recent trip to Australia, where he delivered training workshops to local growers, Erik de Groot took some time to chat with MushroomLink’s Dr Jenny Ekman.
From a childhood spent in a small village of only 4000 people (but with 15 mushroom farms!) – to becoming a sought-after global mushroom consultant working everywhere from Dubai to China, Europe, Australia, South America and the US – Erik has unique insights into how the industry differs from place to place.
In this podcast, Erik chats about the various approaches to mushroom production around the world, current trends and challenges, and where he thinks Australia sits regarding sustainability and quality (spoiler alert – Australian mushrooms are very good!).
Erik's trip to Australia and subsequent workshops were part of the Hort Innovation project MU22010 – Mushroom International Study Tours – Inbound and Outbound, funded through the mushroom levy and contributions from the Australian Government.
MUSHROOMS IN IRELAND, AND THE WORK OF TEAGASC
When people think of horticulture in Ireland, they probably think potatoes. However, the largest horticulture sector in Ireland is actually mushrooms. With 40 farms employing more than 3,500 people and a farm gate value over €120 million, mushrooms are a major industry on the Emerald Isle, a country with a population of only 5 million.
Click here to read the full article from the MushroomLink magazine.